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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bank — for money
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bank — of a river
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. shower — rain
  21. snap — to click
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fork — in a road
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com